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A wine time

Aficionados uncork spirits of Latin America

Holiday prices for premium French wines may make you pop your cork, but experts say there are delicious Latin imports to give as gifts – or to keep for yourself.

Wendy Nadler, cellar master for A.J.’s Fine Foods at 44th St. and Camelback in Phoenix, says you should look to South America to find quality wines at great prices.

South American vineyards produce many different tiers of wines, she explains, adding, “I try to carry wines that are not as mass marketed.”

Mass-marketed wines, produced for consumption within the country, often are lesser in quality, with prices to match. However, once a country decides to enter the world market, its wines must rise in quality to compete – which is all the better for wine enthusiasts.

INVESTING IN PRODUCTION

Blessed with incredible climates for growing grapes, Chile and Argentina are the leading wine producers in South America. In fact, these two countries have been producing wines for more than 150 years. 

Yet it’s hardly been smooth for these winemakers. From 1938 until 1974, the Chilean government decreed no new vineyards could be planted. Once the law expired, winemakers wasted no time in catching up. The modern technology of stainless-steel fermenting tanks was combined with the old method of aging in French and American oak barrels to produce higher quality wines for export.

Tony Rivera, president of Kensington Distributors, Inc., a wine importer in Reno, Nev., says the South Americans’ push to produce quality wines at affordable prices has paid off.

“They have opened up their markets to the world, specifically the United States. They are in high demand,” Rivera explains. 

He says South America has invested millions in new pressing machines and has hired well-trained wine makers who have been educated in Europe or the U.S.

“In the last five years, consumers have been exposed to these wines and they have discovered they can buy an amazing plummy, big red or a delicious white at incredible prices under $12 a bottle,” he says.

CHILE

South American wines are rated tops when considering quality and price, according to Windows on the World: Complete Wine Course,  a widely used textbook for beginning wine drinkers.

Wine master Nadler concurs.

“I think you can find great value in Chile,” Nadler says. ”Some of these wines score in the 80s (on a scale of 100).”

Chile produces whites such as sauvignon blancs, chardonnays, and muscats; luscious reds are mostly cabernet sauvignons, país (mission grapes), and merlot (carmenere grapes).

“The one red I really, really like is carmenere; it’s a grape that probably wasn’t indigenous to Chile,” she says. “It’s such a beautiful wine.”

There also are great high-end wines from which to choose, Nadler says, including a Don Melchor cabernet ($46.99), Sena, from Robert Mondavi ($78.99), and cabernet blends such as the Montes Alfa M ($86.99). Such wines make special gifts during the holidays, to drink now or savor later.

Her favorite pick for a Chilean sauvignon blanc is Matetic Vineyards EQ ($16.99), a wine also cited among the top 10 value wines rated last February by Wine & Spirits Magazine.

“It’s a stunning wine. It’s a perfectly balanced sauvignon blanc. It’s not super grassy, super grapefruity. EQ stands for equilibrio. It’s just beautiful, kind of a little bit of everything on the palate. There are citrus and herbal notes in there, and usually quince that shows through.”

ARGENTINA

Argentina’s wine reputation rests firmly on its reds. 

“I love Argentina,” Nadler enthuses. “My No. 1 (red) seller is a Malbec ($21).”

Rivera recommends Echeverria Cabernet Reserva ($15.99), made from the estate’s own 100 percent cabernet grapes, aged in oak barrels.

“They have done things a little bit differently. It’s very red, plummy and dense. You can’t miss it,” he says.

As for Argentine whites, Rivera claims there has been a revolution, citing Montez, Echeverria and Veramonte as leading vineyards in this category.

“They’re very clean wines,” he says. “The sauvignon blancs have crispness because of the weather conditions: cold winds from the South Pole and the breeze off the ocean.”
   
SPAIN

If you prefer to look toward Europe for wine, consider Spain.

“Spain makes great wines for the money, in the $6.99 to $7.99 range,” Nadler says. “Whites are getting better, finally. Try Albolino, it ranges from $17 to $20.”

For premium Spanish wines, Nadler likes Scala Dei Priorat Scotoixa, priced at $31 (“It’s stellar.”), or the Neo red from Roberto Rabera ($58.99).

In the sparkling wine category (called cavas), try moderately priced Crystallino (about $8.99), which comes in both rosé and brut.

Rivera recommends trying a traditional, 100 percent tempranillo wine, such as a Torre Oria, (about $15) or Señorio de Sarría, produced in the Navarro region, for less than $10 a bottle. (The tempranillo is the mother grape of Spanish wine.)

“When you taste the wine and look at the prices, you go, ‘Oh my gosh, this is an amazing wine,” Rivera says. “You can taste the spices, but it’s soft on the palate. It’ll go with a wide variety of foods.”

Finally, American consumers can buy Latin wines at stores from Costco and Safeway to small wine boutiques and gourmet groceries like A.J.’s Fine Foods. And that’s something to toast.